More Articles

SOFIA, Bulgaria — Israel vowed yesterday to strike back at Iran, blaming the Islamic republic
for a brazen daylight bombing that targeted a bus full of Israeli tourists in Bulgaria and killed
at least seven people.

President Barack Obama termed it a “barbaric terrorist attack.” The U.S. leader called Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to express his sorrow over the loss and pledge assistance to
bring the perpetrators to justice, according to statements from the two leaders’ offices.

The bombing in a quiet Black Sea resort town was the latest in a series of attacks attributed to
Iran that have targeted Israelis and Jews overseas and threatened to escalate a shadow war between
the two arch-enemies. Iran has denied involvement in the past but did not comment on yesterday’s
bombing.

The violence also came against the broader backdrop of the international standoff with Iran over
its nuclear program. Israel, accusing Iran of developing nuclear weapons, has repeatedly hinted it
is prepared to strike Iranian nuclear targets if Tehran does not curb its suspect program.

The blast gutted the bus at the airport in the Black Sea city of Burgas, 250 miles east of the
capital, Sofia. The Israelis had just landed to start their vacation.

Young Israelis said they were just boarding the bus in the airport parking lot when the blast
ripped through it. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said at least seven people were
killed.

“We were at the entrance of the bus and in a few seconds we heard a huge boom,” said Gal Malka,
an Israeli who was slightly wounded in the blast.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack, which wounded 30 others. But suspicion quickly
fell on Iran and its Lebanese proxy, the Hezbollah guerrilla group.

“All signs point to Iran,” Netanyahu said of the blast. “Just in the past few months, we have
seen attempts by Iran to harm Israelis in Thailand, India, Georgia, Kenya, Cyprus and more. This is
an Iranian terror attack that is spreading across the world. Israel will react forcefully to Iran’s
terror.”

In the past, Iran has accused Israel of being behind a series of covert attacks on Iranian
nuclear targets, ranging from assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists to mysterious computer
viruses that have damaged Iranian centrifuges.

Top Israeli security officials were consulting late yesterday. The Israelis said they were still
weighing their options on how to respond, and there were no preparations under way for an immediate
reaction.